Urban Landscape + Lifestyle Photography

November 3, 2017

The Quiet Beauty of a Small Town Blue Hour

Blur Hour on Main Street – Taylor, Texas

While I captured an unexpectedly colorful sunset silhouette, my primary purpose for ducking out of a party for a few minutes, was to do some blue hour photography. Worn yet quietly beautiful, the buildings along Main Street Taylor look particularly enticing during twilight, my favorite time for urban photography.

Starting the tour at the corner of 2nd and Main, this old bank building is my favorite. The bottom floor is boarded up, but I’m hoping it’s a temporary transition to a fully renovated state.

Moving north on Main Street, I spied a pair of modest businesses. The decidedly plain signage along with the worn façade is overshadowed, for me, by the wonderful glow of lights. Three sets attract my attention. The utilitarian window fluorescents seem in keeping with the establishments. To the left, a spooky alleyway security light, rendered in green. Finally, my favorite, pedestrian scaled old-timey street light with its inviting glow.

This small Greek Revival Bank is faring better than the three-story brick structure that I started with. The bank has grown considerably and is now connected to and mostly overshadowed by the modern structure to its left. I opted for the small architectural jewel, however. The modern building just doesn’t have the same level of charm.

Finally, we have this architecturally boring building. Clearly, during some money-saving renovation, any existing ornamentation was efficiently covered by a healthy layer of stucco. Transformed into something fitting a typical suburban strip mall, I find it ironic that the signage acknowledges its blandness.

But, my fondness of the glow from the old-timey lamp, contrasting with the blue shop façade attracted my attention. It’s certainly an architectural disappointment compared to the first building, but at least there are active businesses. Not to mention an almost zen-like simplicity, which may be the kindest description I can give.

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